Representações de crianças em situação de rua na literatura brasileira do século XVI ao XX: travessias de um campo em (des)construção

Abstract

This article aims to analyze how the street child is represented by renowned authors in the literary field. The text will deal with the first child characters in Brazilian literature, poor and oppressed boys, in a street situation, already seen in literature from the 16th to the 20th century. From the realization of a bibliographical research, we bring a discussion about childhood within its various perspectives, tracing a historical path of children in poverty and on the street through the work of renowned authors chosen here in order to compose the research corpus. Engaged in social issues from the most diverse eras, Brazilian literature has always represented, to a greater or lesser extent, the impasses of current societies. Demonstrating this fact, A Escrava Isaura, by Bernardo Guimarães, Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, by Machado de Assis, O Cortiço, by Aluísio de Azevedo, Capitães da Areia, by Jorge Amado and Grande Sertão Veredas, by Guimarães Rosa, are some examples from that. Of these works, many deal with the so-called “excluded” of society – not only poor subjects, but also considered non-citizens – without documents or a home. Simply, non-existent people. Brazilian street children, in this sense, ignored for centuries, have made society take a new look at this scenario, no longer reserving it for subalternity, since ignoring the problem is no longer a viable option.